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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2009‒05‒16
93 papers chosen by |
| By: | Key, Nigel; Kirwan, Barrett E.; Roberts, Michael J. |
| Keywords: | Instrumental Variables, IV, Policy, Agriculture, Subsidies, Production, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Farm Management, Land Economics/Use, Production Economics, Q1, Q12, Q15, Q18, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49201&r=agr |
| By: | Keeney, Roman |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49456&r=agr |
| By: | Chakravorty, Ujjayant (University of Alberta, Department of Economics); Hubert, Marie-Helene (University of Alberta School of Business); Nostbakken, Linda (University of Alberta School of Business) |
| Abstract: | Many countries are actively encouraging the supply of biofuels as a low carbon alternative to the use of fossil fuels for transportation. To what extent do these trends imply a reallocation of scarce land away from food to fuel production? This paper critically reviews the small but growing literature in this area. We find that an increase in biofuel production may have a significant effect on food prices and in certain parts of the world, in speeding up deforestation through land conversion. However, more work needs to be done to examine the effect of newer generation biofuel technologies that are less land-intensive as well as the effect of environmental regulation and trade policies on land allocation between fuel and food. |
| Keywords: | agricultural production; biofuel economics; climate policy; environmental regulation; land allocation |
| Date: | 2009–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:albaec:2009_020&r=agr |
| By: | Onal, Hayri; Chen, Xiaoguang; Khanna, Madhu; Huang, Haixiao |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49469&r=agr |
| By: | Kleiber, Kandice |
| Abstract: | Since the late 1990s, U.S. production of corn ethanol has risen rapidly. In response to high demand, driven in part by rising ethanol production, corn prices and corn production surged in 2007 when corn plantings reached their highest level since 1944. To increase corn acreage, farmers shifted land to corn from other crops or, possibly, returned uncultivated land (e.g., cropland pasture, CRP land) to corn production. Even before 2007, however, "islands" of relatively high corn prices formed around ethanol plants in the Midwest. Price impacts were usually concentrated around an ethanol plant and ranged between 4.6 cents and 19.6 cents, with an average price increase of 12.5 cents at the plant site. Prices were also affected up to an estimated 68 miles from the plant (McNew and Griffith, 2005). Did these price island effects induce producers to shift to crop rotations that include more corn and/or bring in uncultivated land to corn production? If localized changes did occur in the years before 2007, they may persist into the future even though corn prices have declined absolutely and in relation to prices for soybeans and other crop commodities. The question is important because continuous corn, corn-intensive crop rotations, and shifting pasture or hayland into corn, can adversely affect the environment. This paper develops a discrete choice model that incorporates price island effects, local ethanol capacity, and broader land use change to understand the effect of ethanol-driven price islands on corn acreage, corn rotations, and general land use for cultivated crops. The primary data set in estimating the econometric model is the 2005 Corn Agricultural Resource Management Study (ARMS) survey, collected by the Economic Research Service and the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Because ARMS phase II (field-level) data is geo-referenced, spatially explicit data on corn and soybean prices are linked, along with the proximity of farms to ethanol plants and a soil productivity index. The ARMS Corn data is drawn from the traditional Corn Belt, along with some outlier states including North Carolina and North Dakota. A nested multinomial logit model (NML) is used to estimate producer crop mix response to local corn price islands, land quality, and other farm and location-specific factors. The NML model allows us to account for a range of crop production and land use options which vary in terms of similarity and, therefore, substitutability. At the highest level of the nested model, the farmer decides if he will cultivate his land or leave it uncultivated. If he chooses to cultivate his land, he needs to decide what crop to plant, for example, a corn-soybean rotation, wheat, or some âotherâ crop. The farmer will choose the crop and rotation pattern that will provide him with the greatest return, given prices and inputs. In this paper, the NML estimates the probability that a farmer will choose corn and soybeans (conditional on the choice of corn or soybeans) at the lower level and the choice among corn or soybeans, wheat, and âotherâ crops at the upper level, where the probability is a function of a corn/soybean price ratio; ethanol capacity index; livestock indicator variable; irrigation; soil quality and protected land statuses (highly erodible land); and household and farm characteristics. Because parameters cannot be directly interpreted in this model, the marginal effects and elasticities are examined. The authors find that in both levels of estimation, soil productivity and livestock value influence a farmerâs decision to plant corn or soybeans, wheat or some other crop. The estimation of our lower level confirms that local prices have a strong influence on whether a farmer will choose to plant corn or soybeans, while our upper level estimation may suggest that an increase in local ethanol capacity will encourage farmers to plant corn or soybean relative to both wheat and âotherâ. Information on the influence of "price islands" on farm behavior, including farm crop and rotation patterns and individual farmer land use decisions, could have environmental and other implications. This work could be extended by linking land use change to nutrient runoff and loads in water, possible soil erosion, and other environmental impacts from continuous corn rotations. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49616&r=agr |
| By: | Jolejole, Maria Christina B.; Swinton, Scott M.; Lupi, Frank |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the willingness of farmers to participate in hypothetical programs that would pay them to adopt cropping practices that enhance provision of ecosystem services from agriculture. A survey of 3,000 Michigan corn and soybean farmers elicited willingness to adopt four sets of cropping practices that reflected increasing levels of environmental stewardship. Acreage enrollments in the programs were modeled using hurdle models. The acreage that farmers would be willing to enroll depends chiefly on farm size and the perception of environmental improvements from the practices. For farms over 500 acres, the payment offered was also a significant inducement to acreage enrollment in all systems examined. This paper advances the literature on adoption of agro-environmental practices by developing a supply function for crop acreage managed for environmental stewardship. Like prior studies of environmental technology adoption in agriculture, we find that environmental attitudes and affiliations, age, education and current farming practices are influential. But we find that the low cost suppliers of environmental services are the largest farms. Agricultural policies based on payment for environmental services that aim for cost-effective environmental impact will likely achieve most of their impact from larger farms. |
| Keywords: | Willingness to participate, willingness to accept, stated preference, supply response, ecosystem services, payment for environmental services, agricultural policy, agro-environmental policy, environmental policy, corn, soybean, Environmental Economics and Policy, Q18, Q51, Q57, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49356&r=agr |
| By: | Carriazo, Fernando; Claassen, Roger; Cooper, Joseph |
| Keywords: | Crop Insurance, Disaster Payments, Supplemental Revenue Assistance, corn, wheat, Agricultural and Food Policy, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2009–04–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49218&r=agr |
| By: | Anderson, John D.; Barnett, Barry J.; Coble, Keith H. |
| Abstract: | This research investigates the potential effects of the row crop provisions of the standing disaster assistance program (SURE) in the 2008 Farm Bill. Results suggest little impact on producer crop insurance purchase decisions, though the program does seem to provide an incentive for mid-level coverage. Payments under the program should be expected to differ considerably across geographic regions and levels of diversification, with the program providing the greatest benefit to undiversified producers in more risky production regions. |
| Keywords: | crop insurance, disaster assistance, Farm Bill, SURE, Agricultural and Food Policy, Farm Management, Risk and Uncertainty, Q12, Q18, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49304&r=agr |
| By: | Ifft, Jennifer; Roland-Holst, David; Zilberman, David |
| Abstract: | The valuation of traceable or safety-branded food by consumers in developing countries affected by diseases such as avian influenza, or with food safety issues in general, is very difficult to identify. Products that have safety-branding are not common, and food is usually purchased by bargaining at informal markets. However, valuation of traceability has important implications for livestock disease policies as well as agricultural sector development. Through developing a short-term certified supply chain for free range chicken in Hanoi, we were able to conduct a combined field experiment and detailed household survey to measure the valuation of this type of poultry. We find that consumers in urban Hanoi on average have a welfare gain of about $1 per whole chicken purchase for safety-branding and traceability, which translates into a potential annual consumer welfare gain of $66 million for such characteristics. |
| Keywords: | field experiments, avian influenza, Vietnam, food safety, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, C93, D12, Q13, Q18, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49444&r=agr |
| By: | Betz, Michael |
| Abstract: | Raising the incomes of agricultural households is central to reducing poverty in Uganda. In many areas of the country agriculture has encroached into marginal or fragile lands, leaving little room for the expansion of agricultural lands (Kraybill, Bashaasha, and Betz 2009). Additionally, soil degradation has become a barrier to agricultural productivity (Pender et al. 2004), especially in the Eastern region of the country. Farmers now look for alternatives that will increase output without further depleting soil fertility or expanding into fragile lands. Agricultural extension is the primary government mechanism through which developing country governments attempt to improve the knowledge and methods that farmers use to increase output; However, many extension programs throughout Sub-Saharan Africa have the reputation of being largely ineffective (Dejene 1989; Gautam 2000). This study estimates an agricultural production function for 3 farm sizes to determine whether agricultural extension has differential effects on farms of different size. Extension is found to have a positive and significant relationship with the value of output produced for small and large farms, but has not significant relationship with the value of output for medium size farms. This result has distinct policy implications for the design and implementation of agricultural extension programs in Uganda and other parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. |
| Keywords: | Uganda, Africa, agriculture, extension, productivity, NAADS, Agricultural and Food Policy, Farm Management, International Development, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49471&r=agr |
| By: | Ulimwengu, John; Funes, Jose; Headey, Derek; You, Liang |
| Abstract: | Given its vast land resources and favorable water supply, the Democratic Republic of Congoâs (DRC) natural agricultural potential is immense. However, the economic potential of the sector is handicapped by one of the most dilapidated transport systems in the developing world (World Bank, 2006). Road investments are therefore a high priority in the governmentâs investment plans, and those of its major donors. Whilst these are encouraging signs, very little is known about how the existing road network constrains agricultural and rural development, and how these new road investments would address these constraints. To inform this issue the present paper primarily employs GIS-based data to assess the impact of market access on agricultural and rural development (ARD). Compared to existing work, however, the paper makes a number of innovations to improve and extend the generic techniques used to estimate the importance of market access for ARD. First, the DRC road network data is augmented with survey-based data from Minten and Kyle (1999) on agricultural transport times to calculate improved âmarket accessâ measures for the DRC. Second, we follow Dorosh et al (2009) in estimating the long run relationship between market access and agricultural production, although we also investigate the relationship with household wealth. Finally, we run simulations of how proposed infrastructure investments would affect market access, and how market access would in turn affect agricultural production and household wealth. |
| Keywords: | Infrastructure, market access, road and river transport, agricultural production, poverty., Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Food Security and Poverty, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49292&r=agr |
| By: | Savage, Jeff; Brozovic, Nicholas |
| Abstract: | The development of groundwater-irrigated production technologies, fed by water from the Ogallala Aquifer, facilitated the development of agriculture in the High Plains region of the United States that began during the 1960s. The current rate of pumping for irrigation in the region is causing the aquifer to be depleted in many areas, which is cause for concern from a socioeconomic and environmental standpoint. The goal of this paper is to assess the factors that affect the decision to adopt groundwater-irrigated production by farmers, in the presence of risk differentiated by heterogeneous farmland quality and groundwater depth. A binary choice model of adoption is estimated for Nebraska, from 1960 â 2005. The results suggest that farmers consider climate variability, revenue potential, and potential pumping costs in the investment decision. |
| Keywords: | Irrigation, Technology Adoption, Risk, Ogallala Aquifer, Crop Production/Industries, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Q15, Q32, Q55, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49585&r=agr |
| By: | Gedikoglu, Haluk; McCann, Laura |
| Abstract: | To be effective, policies that encourage farmers to use new technologies or practices need farmers both adopt and also keep using these technologies and practices. Adoption of new technologies has been widely analyzed in the literature. However, there is little known about the factors that cause farmers to keep using new technologies or quit using them. Using hazard function estimation, the current study investigates disadoption of Roundup Ready soybeans, injecting manure into the soil, and soil testing. The results of the current study show that over time farmers observe the true benefits and costs of these practices and they become more likely to disadopt these practices. |
| Keywords: | Disadoption, New Technology, Hazard Function, Learning, Uncertainty, Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2009–04–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49404&r=agr |
| By: | Kropp, Jaclyn D.; Whitaker, James B. |
| Abstract: | We estimate the impact of direct payments under the 2002 Farm Act on the credit terms of farm operators, specifically the interest rate on short-term operating loans. In the analysis, we control for farm financial characteristic, farm operator characteristics, and other factors. Using data from the Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) for the year 2007, we show that as the proportion of base acres to total operated acres increases, interest rates decline by a small but statistically significant amount. This implies that direct payments lead to lower operating costs through better credit terms. Lower operating costs may in turn allow some farmers to produce on land that would otherwise be unprofitable to operate. |
| Keywords: | decoupled payments, credit rationing, Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, International Relations/Trade, Q15, Q17, Q18, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49311&r=agr |
| By: | Brady, Michael; Nickerson, Cynthia |
| Abstract: | Given that approximately half of all U.S. farmland is leased, absentee (non-operator) landowners have a significant role in agriculture. Because decisions about how to use farmland can be affected by ownership status, tenure can have far reaching implications for the production of food and fiber, as well as the extent to which environmentally sensitive farmland is cropped or is put into a conservation use. In order to better understand whether conservation participation decisions, and potential responses to factors such as commodity prices, may vary by tenure status, we exploit a unique dataset that identifies where participants associated with Conservation Reserve Program contracts live relative to the land enrolled. These data provide improved spatial information on tenure status relative to previous sources. This study seeks to improve our understanding of the extent and characteristics of absentee landowners in CRP. These findings can help improve policy by recognizing how the heterogeneity across landowners may lead participants to respond differently to changes in market or policy incentives. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49369&r=agr |
| By: | Makdissi, Paul; Wodon, Quentin |
| Abstract: | Under price ceilings and quality floors for agricultural inputs in cash crop sectors in developing countries where credit markets are weak, imperfect information on the ability of farmers to pay for their inputs at the end of the cropping season may lead the decentralized production of those inputs by risk averse private input providers to be inefficient. A coordinating agency and/or subsidies for new farmers could help to produce and distribute more agricultural inputs, thereby increasing the profits for input providers while also enabling more farmers to produce the crops that are key to their livelihood. |
| Keywords: | Rural Poverty Reduction,Economic Theory&Research,Crops&Crop Management Systems,Access to Finance,Rural Development Knowledge&Information Systems |
| Date: | 2009–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:4922&r=agr |
| By: | Murekezi, Abdoul; Loveridge, Scott |
| Abstract: | Low prices in the international coffee markets have worsened the economic well-being among coffee farmers. In the face of this situation, the Government of Rwanda has introduced coffee sector reforms that aimed to transform the sector in a way that targets the high quality market and moves away from the bulk coffee market. The high quality coffee market has shown consistent growth over time and exhibits price premiums in international market. If these high prices are passed on to farmers who take advantage of the benefits of the new high quality market by selling coffee cherries, access to this new market could help alleviate poverty brought on by low prices in the conventional sector. However, the majority of coffee farmers in Rwanda rely on the conventional market by selling parchment coffee. The present study analyzes the effects of coffee sector reforms in terms of household expenditures, a proxy of income, on farmers selling coffee to two supply chains: parchment coffee channel and coffee cherry channel. Results from the random effects model on the two year panel data indicate that farmers benefited from coffee reforms by increasing their consumption over time. Farmers selling coffee cherries have gained from the coffee sector reforms in comparison to farmers selling parchment coffee. Based on these results, it seems that efforts to promote the production of high quality coffee would improve food security and the overall consumption expenditures of coffee growers. |
| Keywords: | Rwanda, market reforms, coffee supply chains, farmersâ income, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49597&r=agr |
| By: | Liang, Yan; Coble, Keith H. |
| Abstract: | This paper employs a cost function analysis method to investigate the existence of moral hazard in cotton buy-up insurance. The trans-log cost function estimates of the own-price elasticity of fertilizer, herbicide, and insecticide is -0.222, -0.143, and -0.121, respectively for Mississippi cotton production. Our results found statistically significant relationship between per acre direct cost and cotton buy-up insurance for year 2001 and 2005 in Mississippi. Our results also indicate that moral hazard can either decrease or increase agricultural input usage depending specific production condition in an individual year. But in general the results support effects smaller than anecdotal evidence would suggest. |
| Keywords: | crop insurance, moral hazard, agricultural input use, cost function analysis, cotton, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Demand and Price Analysis, Production Economics, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49485&r=agr |
| By: | Girante, Maria Joana; Goodwin, Barry K.; Featherstone, Allen |
| Abstract: | We use a large sample of Kansas Farm Management Association farms for eight different crop/practice combinations (dryland and irrigated corn, sorghum, soybeans, and wheat) for 1994 through 2006 to evaluate the determinants of relative yield performance and explore the ability of financial variables to account for some of the remaining unexplained variation. Our hypothesis is that more financially sound farms should be able to implement better production techniques, thus have better yields. We further test whether decoupled payments can be used to enhance yield performance. Our hypothesis is that payments may be used to boost investment in inputs or equipment that can lead to better yields. Our results suggest this could be the case. |
| Keywords: | Yield performance, Decoupled payments, Credit constraints, Agricultural and Food Policy, Farm Management, International Relations/Trade, Q17, Q18, |
| Date: | 2009–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49353&r=agr |
| By: | Campbell, Benjamin L.; Nayga, Rodolfo M. Jr; Silva, Andres; Park, John L. |
| Keywords: | propensity score matching, National School Lunch Program, National School Breakfast Program, NHANES, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49440&r=agr |
| By: | Rios, Ana R.; Shively, Gerald E.; Masters, William A. |
| Abstract: | Recent studies have emphasized that the poorest farmers are often net buyers of key commodities and therefore harmed by rising prices. We use LSMS data from Tanzania, Vietnam and Guatemala to test the degree of net purchases or sales by income level. We find that poorer farmers may be net buyers of individual crops, but only the poorest are net buyers of all crops. More generally, net sales among poor farmers are low. We conclude that agricultural price changes have a diverse but limited influence on poor farmersâ welfare, because their farm sales tend to be offset by food purchases. |
| Keywords: | market participation, poverty, inequality, multi-continent multicountry, Agricultural Finance, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49314&r=agr |
| By: | Labarta, Ricardo |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates farmersâ willingness to pay (WTP) for the vegetative propagated orange fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP) planting material that is many times considered as a public good. Famersâ WTP for OFSP vines was elicited by conducting a real choice experiment (RCE) among 121 small sweetpotato growers in central Mozambique with prior experience growing OFSP but with no participation in OFSP vine distributions in the previous 3 years of the experiment. Results reveals a higher farmersâ willingness to pay for OFSP varieties (US$0.07-0.12) compared to the non-orange planting material (US$ 0.03) and compared to the traditional subsidized price of clean sweetpotato vines (US$ 0.06) used in Mozambique. These results may encourage formation of a network of private vine multipliers that would supply permanently OFSP planting material in wider areas. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Consumer/Household Economics, Farm Management, Food Security and Poverty, Health Economics and Policy, International Development, Production Economics, Q16, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49447&r=agr |
| By: | Peralta, M. Alexandra; Swinton, Scott M. |
| Keywords: | agroforestry, eucalyptus, food security, Kenya, linear programming, smallholder agriculture, whole farm model, Crop Production/Industries, International Development, Production Economics, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, O13, Q12, |
| Date: | 2009–04–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49401&r=agr |
| By: | Taylor, Mykel R.; Phaneuf, Daniel |
| Abstract: | Consumer reaction to changes in the amount of food safety information on beef, pork, and poultry available in the media is the focus of this study. Specifically, any differences in consumer reactions due to heterogeneous household characteristics are investigated. The data used in this study are monthly data from the Nielsen Homescan panel and cover the time period January 1998 to December 2005. These panel data contain information on household purchases of fresh meat and poultry as well as demographic characteristics of the participating households. The data used to describe food safety information were obtained from searches of newspapers using the Lexis-Nexis academic search engine. Consumer reactions are modeled in this study using a demand system that allows for both discrete and continuous choice situations. A seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) tobit model is estimated using a Gibbs sampler with data augmentation. A component error structure (random effects model) is incorporated into the SUR tobit model to account for unobserved heterogeneity of households making repeated purchases over time. Estimates of food safety elasticities calculated from the random effects SUR tobit model suggest that food safety information does not have a statistically or economically significant effect on household purchases of meat and poultry. |
| Keywords: | food safety, panel data, Gibbs sampler, component error, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49214&r=agr |
| By: | Staatz, John M.; Boughton, Duncan H.; Donovan, Cynthia |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a systematic definition of food security, focusing on its different dimensions; examines the nature and magnitude of the different dimensions of food insecurity in developing countries; discusses the difficult tradeoffs that policy makers face in trying to address food securityâs multiple dimensions simultaneously; and explores promising new approaches to address food insecurity. The geographic focus is on Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where the majority of the worldâs food insecure people live. |
| Keywords: | food security, hunger, poverty, food policy, economic development, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, O13, O19, Q18, |
| Date: | 2009–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midasp:49227&r=agr |
| By: | Velandia, Margarita; Lambert, Dayton M.; Jenkins, Amanda; Roberts, Roland K.; Larson, James A.; English, Burton C.; Martin, Steve. W. |
| Abstract: | Acknowledgements: The authors thank Cotton Incorporated and the Tennessee Agricultural Experiment Station for financial support |
| Keywords: | Information source use decisions, Precision Agriculture Technologies, Extension, Media, Private sources, Multivariate Probit, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession, Q12, Q16, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49326&r=agr |
| By: | Chern, Wen S.; Chang, Chun-Yu |
| Abstract: | This research is aimed at investigating the consumerâs preference for food produced in Taiwan and the economic benefits for the country of origin labeling. The study uses both experimental auction and contingent valuation method (CVM) to investigate factors that affect the consumerâs willingness to pay (WTP) for products under country-of-origin labeling (COOL). Experimental auctions of Taiwan and China preserved olives as well as Taiwan, China and Vietnam oolong teas were conducted using the Vickreyâs second price sealed bid auction. For CVM, the study used the double-bounded dichotomous choice method in which we started assuming the same base price for all products in the first question and then varied the prices in the second CV question. The products not chosen in the first question were offered with a discount in a range from 10% to 50% in the following question. Based on auction data, the Tobit model shows that the estimated premiums are 58.1%, 78.15% and 98.13% for Taiwan products over their alternatives of China olives, China oolong tea, and Vietnam oolong tea, respectively. Based on the CVM, the estimated premiums for Taiwan over China olives from a Logit model is 67%, and the premiums for Taiwan produced oolong tea should lie between 50% to an unknown upper bound over China and Vietnam alternatives as the Multinomial Logit model cannot be successfully estimated due to too few choice switches with discounted prices. The study thus demonstrates the superiority of the experimental auction over the CVM in eliciting the WTP for foods produced in Taiwan. The study concludes that enacting a COOL law would increase economic benefits to consumers in Taiwan, and at the same time, placing the imported products in the level playing field. |
| Keywords: | country-of-origin labeling, experimental auction, Tobit model, contingent valuation method, logit model, multinomial logit model, willingness to pay, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Q13, D12., |
| Date: | 2009–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49215&r=agr |
| By: | Tonsor, Glynn T.; Olynk, Nicole; Wolf, Christopher |
| Abstract: | This study provides the first examination of how animal welfare information provided by media sources impacts national meat demand. Quarterly disappearance data is used to examine impacts of animal welfare information on U.S. meat demand using the Rotterdam model. Preliminary results suggest media attention to animal welfare has a small, but statistically significant impact on meat demand. In particular, pork and poultry demand is weakened by media attention to animal welfare issues in their own industries. Interestingly, beef demand is found to benefit from media attention to animal welfare issues in the pork industry. These preliminary findings are currently being evaluated in ongoing work examining sensitivity to a range of methodological issues. |
| Keywords: | animal welfare, consumer demand, meat quality, media information, Rotterdam model, source of information, Agricultural and Food Policy, Demand and Price Analysis, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49338&r=agr |
| By: | Junker, Franziska; Heckelei, Thomas |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade, Livestock Production/Industries, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49298&r=agr |
| By: | Chen, Xiaoguang; Khanna, Madhu; Onal, Hayri |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a dynamic micro-economic land use model that maximizes social welfare and internalizes externality from greenhouse gas emissions to obtain the optimal land use allocation for traditional row crops and bioenergy crops (corn stover, miscanthus and switchgrass), the mix of cellulosic feedstocks and fuel and food prices. We use this carbon tax policy as a benchmark to compare the implications of existing biofuel policies on land use, social welfare and the environment for the 2007-2022 period. The model is operationalized using yields of perennial grasses obtained from a biophysical model, county level data on yields of traditional row crops and production costs for row crops and bioenergy crops in Illinois. We show that a carbon tax policy that is directly related to carbon intensity of fuels can generate the highest social welfare among alternative policy scenarios. The existing ethanol tax credits result in substantial deadweight losses and higher GHG emissions as compared to the baseline. Ethanol blending mandates with subsidies lead to further welfare losses and higher GHG emissions. To meet advanced biofuel blending mandates, corn stover and miscanthus are used but the mix of viable cellulosic feedstocks varies spatially and temporally. Corn stover is viable mainly in central and northern Illinois while miscanthus acres are primarily concentrated on southern Illinois. The blending mandates lead to a significant shift in acreage from soybeans and pasture to corn and a change in crop rotation and tillage practices. |
| Keywords: | cellulosic ethanol, land use, social welfare, greenhouse gas emissions, Land Economics/Use, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q42, Q24, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49484&r=agr |
| By: | Cooper, Joseph; Langemeier, Michael; Schnitkey, Gary; Zulauf, Carl |
| Abstract: | Yield variability can be significantly higher at the farm level than at more aggregated levels, including the county. However, due to a dearth of available farm level data, much stochastic analysis involving farm yields utilizes more aggregated yield data as a proxy for the farm level. We empirically evaluate farm-level variability using longitudinal farm level data sets available from the Kansas Farm Management Association and the Illinois Farm Business and Farm Management Association. For corn, soybeans, and wheat, we compare the farm level yield variability obtained from this data to that inferred from Federal crop insurance premiums. The farm management data exhibit lower yield variability than are implied by the crop insurance premiums. |
| Keywords: | Yield variability, crop insurance, corn, wheat, soybeans, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2009–04–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49216&r=agr |
| By: | Hansen, Kristiana; Baudry, Alexandre; De Blander, Rembert; Henry de Frahan, Bruno; Polome, Philippe |
| Abstract: | We estimate a farm-level cost function for Belgian crop farms using FADN data over the study period 1996-2006. We rely on an estimation of farmers' expected yields at the time cropping decisions are made rather than actual yields observed in the FADN data. The use of an ex ante cost function improves the cost function estimation. We subsequently suggest how our cost function can be used in simulations to analyze farmer response to changes in output price risk. |
| Keywords: | cost function estimation, panel data, risk, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Production Economics, Q12, Q18, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49477&r=agr |
| By: | Coleman, Jane A.; Shaik, Saleem |
| Abstract: | This study examines how federal farm policies, specifically crop insurance, have affected the farm economic structure of North Dakotaâs agriculture sector. The system of derived input demand equations is estimated to quantify the changes in North Dakota farmersâ input use when they purchase crop insurance. Further, the cumulative rolling regression technique is applied to capture the varying effects of the farm policies over time. Empirical results from the system of input demand functions indicate that there is no moral hazard since North Dakota farmers will increase fertilizer and pesticide use in the presence of crop insurance. Results also indicate that farmers in this state will not increase the use of land. |
| Keywords: | Farm Management, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49516&r=agr |
| By: | Qiu, Feng; Goodwin, Barry K.; Gervais, Jean-Philippe |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the contribution of different farm programs to farmland rental contract choices under a principal-agent framework. It focuses on the existence and increasing use of hybrid contracts. An optimal contract will balance efficient risk sharing with appropriate incentives to curtail moral hazard, as well as divide the government program benefits between the landlord and the tenant operator. A multinomial logit model reveals that government support programs have significant impacts on a farmland contract choice. The effects differ substantially across programs and regions. Furthermore, the empirical results also show that risk attitudes and the tenantâs effort productivity have significant impacts on the contract choice. |
| Keywords: | rental contract choice, hybrid contract, decoupled program, coupled program, Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Industrial Organization, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Land Economics/Use, Risk and Uncertainty, Q12, Q15, Q18, |
| Date: | 2009–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49242&r=agr |
| By: | Lerman, Zvi; Sedik, David J. |
| Abstract: | The paper examines agricultural production and productivity growth in two Central Asian countries â Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Both countries are characterized by a significant shift of resources from the traditional Soviet model of collective agriculture to more market-compliant individual and family farming. In both countries, the beginning of the policy-driven switch to family farming around 1997 coincided with the beginning of recovery in agriculture, namely resumption of agricultural growth after a phase of transition decline since 1991. In addition to growth in total agricultural production, we also observe significant increases in productivity of both land and labor since 1997. These observations suggest that productivity growth may be attributable to the changes in farming structure in Central Asia. To check this conjecture we assess the sources of growth by applying the standard Solow growth accounting methodology. Using time series of country statistics for farms of different organizational forms, we decompose the growth in output into growth in the resource base (extensive growth) and growth in productivity (intensive growth). Solow growth accounting clearly shows that, first, much of the growth at the country level is attributable to increases in productivity rather than increases in resources and, second, the increases in productivity in family farms (especially household plots) outstrip the increases in productivity in former collective and state farms. These findings confirm that the recovery of agricultural production in Central Asia has been driven largely by productivity increases, and it is the individual farms that are the main source of agricultural productivity increases. |
| Keywords: | agricultural productivity, agricultural growth, family farms, corporate farms, comparative performance, agrarian reforms, transition countries, Central Asia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Agricultural and Food Policy, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Land Economics/Use, Productivity Analysis, P27, P31, P32, Q15, R14, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49312&r=agr |
| By: | Khandker, Shahidur R. |
| Abstract: | Seasonal poverty in Bangladesh, locally known as monga, refers to seasonal deprivation of food during the pre-harvest season of Aman rice. An analysis of household income and expenditure survey data shows that average household income and consumption are much lower during monga season than in other seasons, and that seasonal income greatly influences seasonal consumption. However, lack of income and consumption smoothing is more acute in greater Rangpur, the North West region, than in other regions, causing widespread seasonal deprivation. The analysis shows that agricultural income diversification accompanied by better access to micro-credit, irrigation, education, electrification, social safety net programs, and dynamic labor markets has helped reduce seasonality in income and poverty in regions other than Rangpur in the recent past. Hence, government policies should promote income diversification through infrastructure investments and provide income transfers to the targeted poor to contain income seasonality and poverty in this impoverished part of Bangladesh. |
| Keywords: | Rural Poverty Reduction,Safety Nets and Transfers,Economic Theory&Research,Inequality |
| Date: | 2009–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:4923&r=agr |
| By: | Luo, Jie; Mainville, Denise; You, Wen; Nayga, Rodolfo M. |
| Abstract: | Experimental Economics methods are used to determine Hispanic consumersâ sensory acceptance of pasture-fed beef and evaluate visual and taste influences on their overall preferences and willingness-to-pay (WTP). Two hundred and thirty-one Hispanic consumers in four experimental sites in Virginia participated in a laboratory experimental procedure where they visually examined and tasted pasture-fed and conventionally produced grain-fed beef, and then participated in a non-hypothetical Multiple Price Lists (MPL) experiment to determine their WTP. Hispanic consumers perceived significant differences between pasture-fed and grain-fed beefâs appearance and taste. Visual and taste acceptances are closely correlated to and significantly influence overall preferences. More than fifty percent of Hispanic consumers prefer pasture-fed beef and the majority of them consistently are willing to pay a price premium. Approximately, half consumers who generally prefer pasture-fed beef consistently consider the appearance and taste of pasture-fed beef more favorable but another half of them indicated discrepant visual and taste acceptances. Nevertheless, this inconsistency doesnât lead to a lower WTP for pasture-fed beef. |
| Keywords: | Pasture-Fed Beef, Experimental Economics, Multiple Price Lists, Preference, Willingness-to-pay, Agribusiness, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Livestock Production/Industries, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49457&r=agr |
| By: | Olson, Kent; Vu, Linh |
| Abstract: | Changes and trends in farm productivity have been of intense interest to many involved with agriculture. This study used data envelopment analysis (DEA) to estimate the output-oriented Malmquist total factor productivity (TFP) index from panel data for 1993-2006 for farms in Southern Minnesota. Bootstrap methods were used to estimate confidence intervals for the productivity, efficiency change and technical change indices. The model included three inputs (labor, land and immediate expenditures) and six outputs (corn, soybean, milk, hog, beef, and nonfarm income). Productivity growth was found to be positive during the period, with an average annual productivity growth of 6.6 percent. However, TFP growth has been slowing down in recent years and indeed negative in 2000/01, 2002/03 and 2005/06. In the second stage of the analysis, the significance of various factors that might affect farm performance was estimated. Farm size (as measured by the log of farm income) was correlated with higher productivity which may help explain the increase in farm size in Minnesota farms in recent years. Government subsidies were found to have a negative impact on farm performance supporting the argument that agricultural subsidies may create disincentives for farmers to improve their productivity and efficiency. A higher nonfarm income ratio was positively related with higher productivity growth. A higher proportion of hired labor has a negative effect implying family labor is more crucial than hired labor in improving productivity. |
| Keywords: | total factor productivity, farms, Malmquist index, data envelopment analysis, DEA, bootstrap, government subsidies, Farm Management, Productivity Analysis, Q12, C14, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49204&r=agr |
| By: | Fernandez-Cornejo, Jorge; Nehring, Richard; Newcomb Sinha, Elizabeth; Grube, Arthur; Vialu, Alexandre |
| Abstract: | The paper discusses recent national trends in pesticide use in major crop production, identifying major national shifts in pesticide use between 1960 and 2007 by commodity and specific trends in herbicide and insecticide use in corn, cotton, and soybeans. The paper also shows how hedonic methods are used to calculate quality-adjusted price changes and implicit prices of the quality characteristics of pesticides for 1960 through 2007. In addition, the paper examines quality-adjusted price and quality trends in key corn and cotton states, and examines the major forces driving the pesticide trends. |
| Keywords: | pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, hedonic models, genetically engineered crops, corn, soybeans, cotton, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49271&r=agr |
| By: | Fabiosa, Jacinto F. |
| Abstract: | The study finds that the emergence and expansion of the ethanol sector was associated with a fundamental transformation of the integration of the energy and agricultural sectors. In particular, the correlation structure between crude oil and grain prices increased dramatically, becoming more statistically significant, and with all anomalous signs corrected. Before the ethanol boom, the correlation of the crude oil price and corn was -0.117. It increased to 0.876 in the ethanol boom period. Soymeal correlation increased from 0.182 to 0.909, and distillers dried grains with solubles increased from -0.252 to 0.834. As a result, the energy market is also now impacting the livestock sector through feed costs, which account for more than half of total costs. From a weak correlation of the crude oil price and feed cost of 0.02, correlation increased to 0.89 during the ethanol boom period. Hence, any variability originating from the energy sector will also now have stronger ripple effects in the livestock sector. |
| Keywords: | Energy sector, agricultural sector, least-cost feed ration, biofuel, Livestock Production/Industries, Production Economics, Q12, Q13, Q18, |
| Date: | 2009–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49240&r=agr |
| By: | Dong, Fengxia; Hennessy, David A.; Jensen, Helen H. |
| Abstract: | Finisher hog production in North America has seen a shift toward larger production units and contract-organized production since circa 1990. Given the efficiency gains and conversion costs associated with contract production, growers may have to choose between long term commitment through investments and atrophy with intent to exit in the intermediate term. A model is developed to show that growers with any of three efficiency attributes (lower innate hazard of exit, variable costs, or fixed contract adoption costs) are not only more likely to contract but will also produce more and expend more on lowering business survival risks. Using the 2004 U.S. Agricultural Resource Management Survey for hogs, a recursive bivariate probit model is estimated in which exit is affected directly, and also indirectly through the contract decision. It is confirmed that contracting producers are less likely to exit. Greater specialization and regional effects are important in increasing the probability of contracting. More education, having non-farm income and older production facilities are significant in increasing the expected rate of exit. The findings suggest further exits by non-contract producers. |
| Keywords: | agricultural industrialization, hog production, occupation choice, production contracts, recursive bivariate probit, relationship-specific investments, sector dynamics., Agricultural and Food Policy, Demand and Price Analysis, Production Economics, D23, Q12, J26, J43., |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49343&r=agr |
| By: | George Grantham |
| Abstract: | Between 1300 and 1500 the French agricultural economy was subjected to massive demographic, political, fiscal and monetary shocks. Despite these shocks, the seigniorial system of property rights governing the ownership and use of land remained largely unchanged. This paper describes the shocks and analyes the responses to them. |
| JEL: | N13 N33 N54 |
| Date: | 2009–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mcl:mclwop:2009-04&r=agr |
| By: | Mitchell, Paul; Shi, Guanming; Ma, Xingliang; Lauer, Joe |
| Abstract: | Recent agronomic research finds that economically optimal seeding densities have likely increased for many Midwestern corn farmers as a result of genetic improvements including new GM traits such as Bt corn and herbicide tolerance. We derive a per acre demand model for hybrid seed corn to examine the determinants of corn seeding densities and estimate the model using a large data set of individual farmer seed corn purchases. Current results identify factors other than prices affecting farmer corn seeding densities. Among these factors are the GM trait of the seed corn, measures of the local seed corn market structure, seed purchase source and intended end use. We interpret these effects in terms of information effectsâfarmers with more/better access to the latest agronomic research indicating that recommended seeding densities should be increased tend to plant corn at higher densities. |
| Keywords: | hybrid seed corn, Bt corn, herbicide tolerance, Herfindahl index, corn borer, rootworm, hyperbolic yield model, Agribusiness, Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, Industrial Organization, Production Economics, D2, D21, Q1, Q12, |
| Date: | 2009–05–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49520&r=agr |
| By: | Rada, Nicholas E.; Buccola, Steven T.; Fuglie, Keith O. |
| Abstract: | Brazil now is the largest coffee, sugar, and fruit juice producer, second-largest soybean and beef producer, and third-largest corn and broiler producer. It has overtaken the U.S. in poultry exports, nearly matches the U.S. in soybean exports, and dominates global trade in frozen orange juice. To test and better understand these advances, we draw on decennial farm censuses to examine technical change and efficiency in Brazilian agriculture. Our approach is to estimate a stochastic, multi-product, output distance frontier, using a translog functional form and data disaggregated to the micro-region (sub-state) level. Using two consecutive decennial farm censuses, we combine state-level Fisher productivity-change indexes with state-level translog distance function estimates of technical efficiency change to impute state-level technical shifts. We find, leading up to the soon-to-be-released 2006 agricultural census, that Brazilâs multi-factor productivity growth rate between 1985 and 1996 was 20.2%. Mean state-level technical efficiency was 91.2%, which implies the production frontier expanded 22.2% over the reference time period. |
| Keywords: | Brazil, Shephard distance function, stochastic frontier, technical change, technical efficiency, International Development, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49317&r=agr |
| By: | Ricker-Gilbert, J.; Jayne, T.S.; Black, J.R. |
| Abstract: | Despite their strain on government and donor budgets, fertilizer subsidies have once again become popular policy tools in several Sub-Saharan Africa countries as a potential way to increase yields in staple crops like maize. Policy makers often assume that farmers who receive the subsidy will achieve yield responses that are similar to those obtained by farmers who pay commercial prices for the input. This notion has not been verified empirically. Our study uses panel data from Malawi, a country that recently implemented a fertilizer subsidy program, to compare maize yield response to fertilizer from farmers who received subsidized fertilizer with yield responses from those who paid commercial prices for the input. Descriptive results indicate that maize plots using commercial fertilizer obtain higher yields per kilogram of fertilizer than maize plots that used subsidized fertilizer. Conversely, the results obtained using a fixed-effects estimator indicate that when other factors are controlled for, maize plots that use subsidized fertilizer obtain a higher yield response than other plots. The results seems to be influenced by a group of farmers who used no fertilizer before the subsidy program began, but used subsidized fertilizer after the program was implemented. This group of farmers obtained significantly higher yields in the year when they receive the subsidy than did the rest of the farmers in the sample during that year. These findings indicate that in order to be effective, government officials should specifically target fertilizer subsidies to farmers who lack access to commercial markets or would not otherwise find it profitable to purchase the input. |
| Keywords: | Malawi, Fertilizer Subsidies, Production Function, Crop Production/Industries, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49532&r=agr |
| By: | Magnier, Alexandre; Konduru, Srini; Kalaitzandonakes, Nicholas |
| Abstract: | Genetically modified (GM) crops have been largely adopted in major exporting countries thereby representing a dominant share of a few key agricultural commodities that are traded in international markets. Regulatory reviews and approvals for the cultivation and marketing of GM crops, however, are country-specific and significant discrepancies in the amount of time required to review and approve new GM crops between importing and exporting countries has led to âasynchronous approvalsâ. Trade disruptions created by asynchronous approvals of GM crops are expected and can quickly deteriorate into effective trade bans because perfect segregation between approved and unapproved GM crops is difficult. The issues we examine in this paper are the potential market and welfare impacts from trade disruptions that might be caused by asynchronous regulatory approvals of new GM crops. We develop a trade model consisting of two composite importing countries and one exporting country. We first derive a baseline equilibrium where no unapproved events exists. When then derive a second equilibrium so that the market and welfare impacts of asynchronous approval on consumers and producers in each composite country can be analyze and discussed. We found that asynchronous approvals tend to increase prices, reduce consumer surplus and increase profits of producers of identity preserved commodities in all countries. However, we found that the aggregate quantities consumed and the profits of commodity producers are depend on the relative size of the export market in the countries where event are not approved. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, International Relations/Trade, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49592&r=agr |
| By: | Lybbert, Travis J.; Kusunose, Yoko; Magnan, Nicholas; Fadlaoui, Abdelaziz |
| Keywords: | drought, coping, vulnerability, risk, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Food Security and Poverty, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49367&r=agr |
| By: | Awokuse, Titus O. |
| Abstract: | In recent decades, the potential contribution of agriculture to economic growth has been a subject of much controversy among development economists. While some contend that agricultural development is a precondition to industrialization, others strongly disagree and argue for a different path. Taking advantage of recent developments in time series econometric methods, this paper re-examines the question of whether agriculture could serve as an engine of growth. Results from the empirical analysis provide strong evidence indicating that agriculture is an engine of economic growth. Furthermore, we find that trade openness has a positive effect on GDP growth. |
| Keywords: | Agriculture, Economic growth, ARDL, developing countries, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, C23, O11, 041, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49762&r=agr |
| By: | Dhoubhadel, Sunil P.; Castillo, Sergio C.; Capps, Oral |
| Abstract: | It is generally observed that whenever there are cases of disease outbreaks or food recalls, there is a concomitant decline in commodity prices. However, it is still not clear what happens to price spreads among affected agents in the marketing chain. To shed light on this issue, we estimate the collective impact of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) and food recalls on marketing margins associated with the U.S. beef industry over time. In previous research, the effects of these variables on the market demand of meat were estimated separately. By including these variables together in the same model specification we avoid the possibility of confounding their effects, and we are in position to obtain more precise estimates of elasticities of price transmission along the marketing chain. |
| Keywords: | marketing margins, elasticities of price transmission, BSE, food recalls, U.S. beef industry, Agribusiness, Demand and Price Analysis, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49386&r=agr |
| By: | Williamson, James M.; Brady, Mike; Durst, Ron |
| Abstract: | This project examines Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code and agriculture land exchanges. Stakeholders in rural communities and agriculture are particularly interested in Section 1031 because the recent growth in transaction values of farmland may have, in part, been stimulated by Section 1031 land exchanges. Further, although many have speculated that such exchanges are widely used, little empirical research exists about the provision. We examine the theory of exchanges and develop a theoretical premium value for exchanges. We also present the first evidence of like-kind exchanges involving farmland using Federal tax data. |
| Keywords: | Like-Kind Exchange, Capital Gains Tax, Agricultural Land, Land Economics/Use, Public Economics, Q15, H24, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49299&r=agr |
| By: | Chen, Susan E.; Florax, Rayond J.G.M.; Snyder, Samantha D. |
| Abstract: | This paper provides quantitative estimates of the effect of proximity to fast food restaurants and grocery stores on obesity in urban food markets. Our empirical model combined georeferenced micro data on access to fast food restaurants and grocery stores with data about salient personal characteristics, individual behaviors, and neighborhood characteristics. We defned a "local food environment" for every individual utilizing 0.5-mile buffers around a person's home address. Local food landscapes are potentially endogenous due to spatial sorting of the population and food outlets, and the body mass index (BMI) values for individuals living close to each other are likely to be spatially correlated because of observed and unobserved individual and neighborhood effects. The potential biases associated with endogeneity and spatial correlation were handled using spatial econometric estimation techniques. Our policy simulations for Indianapolis, Indiana, focused on the importance of reducing the density of fast food restaurants or increasing access to grocery stores. We accounted for spatial heterogeneity in both the policy instruments and individual neighborhoods, and consistently found small but statistically signifcant effects for the hypothesized relationships between individual BMI values and the densities of fast food restaurants and grocery stores. |
| Keywords: | obesity, fast food, grocery store, spatial econometrics, micro data, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Health Economics and Policy, Public Economics, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, C31, D12, I12, I18, |
| Date: | 2009–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49512&r=agr |
| By: | Xue, Hong; Mainville, Denise; You, Wen; Nayga, Rodolfo M. Jr |
| Abstract: | Nutritional value is an important attribute of foods whose benefits can only be experienced by repetitive consumption in long run. Consumersâ knowledge about the importance and usefulness of specific nutrients in a food product may influence their subjective expectation of the productâs health benefits which in turn is translated into their perception of the productâs value. At the same time, the sensory characteristics of food products affect consumersâ immediate consumption gratification. This study makes a unique contribution to the literature by exploring the roles that nutrition knowledge and sensory evaluation play in shaping consumersâ pasture-fed beef purchasing behavior through economic experiments. Our results suggest that beef productsâ sensory characteristics play a central role in determining consumersâ preferences and willingness to pay. Nutrition knowledge significantly influences consumersâ willingness to pay and different types of nutrition knowledge influence consumersâ willingness to pay in distinct ways. The significant impact of consumersâ health status on their willingness to pay is identified. The study advances the literature by providing empirical evidence of the relationship between nutrition knowledge, sensory evaluation, and consumersâ purchasing behavior observed right at the point of purchase. It can help policy makers better understand consumersâ food behavior and make initiatives to improve diet and health. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Health Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49277&r=agr |
| By: | Niemi, Jarkko K; Lyytikainen, Tapani; Sahlstrom, Leena; Virtanen, Terhi; Lehtonen, Heikki |
| Abstract: | Risk classification of livestock farms can help stakeholders design and implement risk management measures according to the possessed risk. Our goal is to examine how differently pig farms may contribute to the societal costs of an animal disease outbreak, how valuable this information is to different stakeholders, and how it can be used to target risk management measures. We show that the costs of an outbreak starting from a certain farm can be quantified for the entire sector using bio-economic models. In further studies, this quantified risk can be differentiated so that farms and slaughterhouses internalise the full cost of risk in production decisions and inhibit animal densities, animal contact structures or other characteristics which pose a threat to the sector. Potential benefits due to risk classification could be received by society and producers, and in the long run also by consumers. |
| Keywords: | Risk classification, animal disease, simulation, dynamic programming, partial-equilibrium, losses, Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, Livestock Production/Industries, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2009–04–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49307&r=agr |
| By: | Lin, Shanshan; Mullen, Jeffrey D.; Hoogenboom, Gerrit |
| Abstract: | An agronomic crop growth model, Decision Support System for Agro-Technology Transfer (DSSAT), is used to find optimal crop management strategies for cotton production in Mitchell, Miller, and Lee Counties in Georgia during the past 10 years. Planting date and irrigation threshold are the two variables optimized to maximize farmer's expected utility. A decreasing absolute risk aversion - constant relative risk aversion (DARA-CRRA) utility function is used to examine crop management decision that can be influenced by changes in inter-temporal risk behavior. Comparison is made from management perspective - one is dynamic crop management strategy that varies each year; one is static (constant) strategy over 10 years. Based on the best crop management strategies, index insurance products are designed to help farmers further reduce production risk. The impact of geographical basis risk was assessed by comparing the risk reduction generated from index insurance contracts based on different weather stations; the impact of temporal basis risk is assessed by allowing separate contracts to be purchased for different sub-periods during the entire period. |
| Keywords: | Irrigation, Planting Date, Risk Management, Weather Derivative Contract, Basis Risk, Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, Financial Economics, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49350&r=agr |
| By: | Benjamin, Catherine; Houee-bigot, Magalie; Tavera, Christophe |
| Abstract: | Over the last few years, the prices of the main agricultural raw materials have been highly volatile. The situation is unprecedented, both in the magnitude of the upward and downward volatility observed, and in the number of agricultural commodities affected. Various factors are contributing to these contrasting shifts: the role of emerging countries, changing dietary habits, an increase in energy demand related to the boom in biofuels, adverse weather conditions and speculation. In this paper we try to capture long-term relationships between crop prices and crude oil price using a partial equilibrium and times series method. The study finds little empirical evidence that the crude oil price have a significant influence on the variation of major vegetable crops prices |
| Keywords: | Partial equilibrium modeling, Forecasting cointegration, Demand and Price Analysis, Q11, Q13, Q42, |
| Date: | 2009–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49436&r=agr |
| By: | Kovacs, Kent F. |
| Abstract: | Using county-level panel data, we estimate duration models to study the timing of rapid farmland conversion events. Results suggest that income and the proximity to major highways are the principal determinants of rapid conversion events (and also responsible for prolonging these events). In particular, an increase in income of 1% is found to hasten the time to a rapid conversion event by 111% and to extend the time back to a slow state of conversion by 76%. On the other hand, valuable agricultural land and high property taxes extend the time to a rapid conversion event (and also hasten the time back to a slow state of conversion). An increase in the value of agricultural production per acre extends the time to a rapid conversion event by 14% and hastens the time to a slow state of conversion by 106%. Knowledge about the timing of rapid farmland conversion will help counties to better predict infrastructure needs and take steps to mitigate the traffic and environmental impacts. |
| Keywords: | Farmland conversion, Semi-parametric duration analysis, Differential Assessment, Location and land use, Agricultural Finance, Land Economics/Use, R11, R21, R31, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49252&r=agr |
| By: | Aultman, Stephen; Hurley, Terrance M.; Mitchell, Paul D.; Frisvold, George |
| Abstract: | This study examines soybean grower adoption of the Roundup Ready® (RR) weed management program with and without a residual herbicide application, and grower concerns regarding weed resistance to herbicides using telephone survey data from of 357 growers in 2007. It also estimates the pecuniary and non-pecuniary benefits enjoyed by growers from their RR program. The results indicate that soybean growers planned to treat 29 percent of their RR acres with a residual herbicide in 2008. More than half (53%) of the growers survey were concerned about weed resistance. The estimated expected benefit of the RR program in 2008 was $10.17 per acre, which translates into about $727 million with 75.7 million acres of soybean in the U.S. in 2008. The estimated value per acre of the RR program with and without a residual was $8.78 and $12.83. The estimates also suggest that if growers were not using residual herbicides with the RR program, their benefits would be 28.4% lower. Alternatively, if all growers were required to use residual herbicides on their RR acres, the value of the RR program would be 46% lower. Simply increasing grower weed resistance concerns could increase residual herbicide use on RR acres by up to 7%. The same increase in residual herbicide use could be accomplished by decreasing the cost of residual herbicide applications on RR acres by $0.81 per acre. |
| Keywords: | Roundup Ready, Soybean, Glyphosate, Weed Resistance, Benefits, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, Farm Management, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49342&r=agr |
| By: | Liu, Xiaowen; Yen, Steven T. |
| Abstract: | The socioeconomic determinants of Food Stamp Program participation and the effects of program participation on nutrient intakes are investigated, using data from the 2003â04 and 2005â06 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). An endogenous switching regression system of equations is estimated, which includes protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium and iron. Participation in the FSP is found to play an important role in nutrient intakes. Socio-demographic variables such as income, household size and presence of children are also found to affect individualsâ decisions on program participation and nutrient intakes. |
| Keywords: | Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49529&r=agr |
| By: | Henningsen, Arne; Kumbhakar, Subal C.; Lien, Gudbrand |
| Abstract: | The effect of subsidies on farm production has been a major topic in agricultural economics for several decades. We present a new approach for analyzing the effects of different types of coupled and decoupled subsidies on farm production with econometric methods. In contrast to most previous studies, our approach is entirely based on a theoretical microeconomic model, explicitly allows subsidies to have an impact on input use, and takes linkages between the farm and the farm household into account. |
| Keywords: | panel data, subsidies, household model, endogeneity, Norwegian grain farming, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49728&r=agr |
| By: | Verma, Monika; Hertel, Thomas W. |
| Abstract: | In this paper we examine the impact of commodity price volatility on nutritional attainment of households at the nutritional poverty line in Bangladesh. We focus on the first two moments of the distribution of nutrition and consider the differential impacts across socio-economic groups within the country. We also examine the direction and magnitude of the shift in these moments as a result of implementation of special safeguards measures aimed at preventing import surges. |
| Keywords: | price volatility, calories, vulnerability, food consumption, poverty, household data, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49344&r=agr |
| By: | Ariyaratne, Chatura B.; Featherstone, Allen M. |
| Abstract: | A farmâs physical investment is affected by its fundamental q and by its financial situation, with the later comprising both the firmâs liquidity and its possibility of facing capital market imperfections. This study determines the effects of government payments, depreciation, and inflation on crop farm machinery and equipment investment behavior employing the Nonlinear Generalized Method of Moment (GMM) estimator to estimate the investment system. The magnitude of the lagged cash flows such as government payments, cash crop income, and grain income were largely responsible for determining farm investment behavior in the Kansas agriculture sector. An increase in lagged machinery and equipment depreciation and lagged farm motor vehicle and listed property depreciation increases total crop farm investment substantially for an average farm. Statistically, there is no evidence of inflation affects on crop farm machinery investment behavior. |
| Keywords: | Investment, Liquidity, fundamental q, government payments, depreciation, inflation, Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, Financial Economics, Livestock Production/Industries, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49301&r=agr |
| By: | Chang, Jae Bong; Moon, Wanki; Balasubramanian, Siva K. |
| Keywords: | Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49591&r=agr |
| By: | Ahmed, Syud Amer; Diffenbaugh, Noah S.; Hertel, Thomas W.; Ramankutty, Navin; Rios, Ana R.; Rowhani, Pedram |
| Abstract: | Climate volatility will increase in the future, with agricultural productivity expected to become increasingly volatile as well. For Tanzania, where food production and prices are sensitive to the climate, rising climate volatility can have severe implications for poverty. We develop and use an integrated framework to estimate the poverty vulnerabilities of different socio-economic strata in Tanzania under current and future climate. We find that households across various strata are similarly vulnerable to being impoverished when considered in terms of their stratumâs populations, with poverty vulnerability of all groups higher in the 21st Century than in the late 20th Century. When the contributions of the different strata to the national poverty changes are taken into account, the rural and urban households with diversified income sources are found to account for the largest poverty changes due to their large shares in initial total poverty. |
| Keywords: | climate, volatility, poverty vulnerability, Tanzania, Environmental Economics and Policy, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49358&r=agr |
| By: | Schaible, Glenn D.; Kim, C.S.; Aillery, Marcel P. |
| Keywords: | Technology adoption, Water conservation, Irrigation, Dynamic groundwater models, Sustainable agriculture, Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49244&r=agr |
| By: | Karov, Vuko; Roberts, Donna; Grant, Jason H.; Peterson, Everett B. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49345&r=agr |
| By: | Cabrera, Victor E.; Gould, Brian W.; Valvekar, Mayuri |
| Abstract: | Livestock Gross Margin insurance for dairy cattle (LGM-Dairy) is a risk management tool that can be used to insure a lower bound on a dairy producerâs gross margin. In this paper we (1) review the basic structure of LGM-Dairy (2) examine the sensitivity of Gross Margin Guarantee (GMG) and premium to changes in feeding regimes and (3) quantify impacts of changes in deductible level on important program characteristics. |
| Keywords: | Dairy Price Risk, Uncertainty, Livestock Insurance., Agribusiness, Farm Management, Financial Economics, Livestock Production/Industries, Production Economics, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49262&r=agr |
| By: | Katchova, Ani L. |
| Abstract: | This study examines whether the local competition for corn to produce ethanol has lead to significantly higher prices for farmers located close to ethanol plants. If any, such price premiums for spatial closeness would be in addition to the general level of corn price changes experienced by farmers throughout the U.S. The difference-in-differences estimation method is used to account for both time and location differences in order to measure the interaction of time and location effects. Using the USDAâs ARMS data, the results show that while prices in real terms have risen over time, farmers located close to ethanol plants have not received significantly higher prices than farmers living farther away from plants. These findings indicate that there is a lack of evidence for price premiums due to the spatial closeness to ethanol plants. |
| Keywords: | corn prices, ethanol, ethanol plant location, difference-in-differences., Agribusiness, Marketing, Q13, |
| Date: | 2009–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49309&r=agr |
| By: | Knapp, Keith C. |
| Abstract: | The role of agricultural production in economic growth has long been of interest to agricultural economists, including questions related to poverty traps and the measurement of technical change. This work investigates these issues, with particular emphasis on embodied vs. disembodied technical change, technical issues related to the standard C-D model and its realism, and the possible role of non-convex production technologies. The first set of simulations is for a C-D economy. The results suggest general convergence to a positive steady-state regardless of agricultural productivity (with one possible - although unlikely - exception), and that convergence happens very fast. A variety of reasons are given why this is not likely to be a complete model of growth and development. An activity analysis model of growth is proposed, with the key result so far being that one can generate qualitatively similar time paths to observed data over some time horizons without appeal to disembodied technical change and while remaining in the neoclassical framework. There is also reasoning from the literature to support non-classical production. The key result there is the possibility of convergence to a zero steady-state depending on initial conditions. Work in progress investigates the possibility of agriculturally-induced poverty traps and implications for productivity measurement utilizing these frameworks. |
| Keywords: | Economic growth, agricultural productivity, dynamic programming., International Development, Production Economics, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49483&r=agr |
| By: | Arnade, Carlos; Calvin, Linda; Kuchler, Fred |
| Abstract: | This paper generalizes the standard error correction model and applies this more general modeling procedure to an analysis of the spinach e-coli outbreak on consumer demand. |
| Keywords: | E-Coli, Error Correction Model, Spinach, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49208&r=agr |
| By: | Jaenicke, Edward C.; Goetz, Stephan J.; Wu, Ping-Chao; Dimitri, Carolyn |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the certified organic handler sector, a specialized component of the middle part of the farm-to-table marketing chain, and documents the impacts of firm agglomeration (or firm clusters) on firm-level performance or firm-level decisions. After accounting for endogeneity in firm clustering, our findings confirm that firm clusters have significant impacts, though the estimate of the impact depends on how a firm cluster is defined. For example, significant impacts on sales per employee range from an additional $0.17 million to $1.47 million, depending on whether a small or large number of firms is used as the minimum number to define a firm cluster. |
| Keywords: | firm clusters, organic, treatment effects, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, |
| Date: | 2009–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49205&r=agr |
| By: | Moore, Rebecca; Price, Joseph |
| Abstract: | In Georgia, the price of irrigation water is equal to the cost of extraction, including pumping and diversion, storage, treatment, and delivery costs. These water-pricing conditions are repeated in locales around the world. In lieu of established water markets, water use and its efficient use are driven more by farm-level characteristics and management strategies than by the resource price. The purpose of the research presented herein is to examine what factors guide Georgia farmersâ water use decisions. Using data envelopment analysis (DEA) to calculate technical water use efficiency scores, a second step Tobit model is estimated to determine the effect of farm type and farm size. A farmsâ use of conservation tillage or organic farming positively affected their water use efficiency, while farms of smaller size or solely owned were more inefficient in water use. |
| Keywords: | technical/productive water use efficiency, organic agriculture, DEA, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49482&r=agr |
| By: | Olper, Alessandro; Falkowski, Jan; Swinnen, Jo |
| Abstract: | We estimate the effect of democratic transitions on agricultural protection in a sample of 74 developing and developed countries, observed in the 1955-2005 period. We employ both differences-in-differences regressions and semi-parametric matching methods, exploiting the time series and cross-sectional variation in the data. Our semi-parametric matching estimates show that parametric methods might underestimate the true effect of democracy on agricultural protection. We find a strong increase in agricultural protection (reduce in taxation) after a country transition to democracy. Specifically a democratic transition increases agricultural protection by about 9 percent points. However, the effect is asymmetric as the effect of leaving democracy on protection is close to zero. The evidence supports the redistributive nature of democratic institutions toward the majority and, therefore, it is not inconsistent with the median voter model of political behaviour. |
| Keywords: | Democratic Reforms, Agricultural Distortions, Comparative Political Economics, Agricultural and Food Policy, Political Economy, D72, F13, O13, P16, Q18, |
| Date: | 2009–04–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49313&r=agr |
| By: | Cristina Marreiros (Universidade de Evora, Departamento de Gestão, CEFAGE-UE); Mitchell Ness (Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering, University of Newcastle) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework for the analysis of consumer behaviour concerning the evaluation and choice of food products. The paper presents a review of theory on the processes of consumers' decision making and quality perception. Following this review, a theoretical framework is proposed that integrates the models of Engel, Blackwell and Miniard (1995), the main constructs of the Total Food Quality model of Grunert (1997), together with additional constructs and relationships between them, proposed by Zeithaml (1988) and by the authors of the present paper. |
| Keywords: | Consumer behaviour; Food; Decision-making; Perception; Quality. |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cfe:wpcefa:2009_06&r=agr |
| By: | Konduru, Srinivasa; Kalaitzandonakes, Nicholas; Magnier, Alexandre |
| Abstract: | Since their commercial introduction in 1996, genetically modified (GM) crops have been quickly adopted world wide, but some GM crops/varieties have not received regulatory approval for use in some importing countries, leading to asynchronicity in regulatory approvals. In this context, the international agricultural trade relied on analytical GMO testing which is a statistical process, along with identity preserved systems to segregate GM and non-GM crops. This led to a situation where measurement uncertainty became an important issue as it can lead to potential holdups at the point of import. In this background, this paper examines the implications of measurement uncertainty associated with GMO testing on the behavior of importers and exporters in a game theoretic framework. The results indicate that relative size of identity preservation costs, testing and rejection costs, the premiums offered in the non- GM markets and measurement uncertainty all have direct impacts on the behavior of importers and exporters. |
| Keywords: | GMO testing, measurement uncertainty, identity preservation systems, agricultural trade, International Relations/Trade, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49594&r=agr |
| By: | Bhattacharya, Suparna; Azzam, Azzeddine M; Mark, Darrell |
| Abstract: | Since corn is the primary feedstock used for producing ethanol in the U.S., and ethanol production yields byproducts that can be fed to livestock in combination with corn, addressing the effect of ethanol production on meat markets should consider not only demand and supply interdependence between corn, ethanol, and ethanol byproducts; but also demand and supply interdependence between different types of meats. This paper develops a multi-market equilibrium displacement model to account for the interdependence. Six markets are considered: beef, pork, poultry, corn, ethanol, and ethanol byproducts. Results show that poultry is the most sensitive to ethanol production, followed by beef and pork. |
| Keywords: | Demand and price analysis, Ethanol, U.S. livestock sectors, Demand and Price Analysis, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49371&r=agr |
| By: | Kirwan, Barrett E. |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the effect of government-provided crop insurance on farm failure rates. By exploiting random variation in weather and the Federal Crop Insurance Reform Act of 1994, which mandated crop insurance coverage for the first time, I employ two natural experiments that identify the causal effect of disaster relief on farm failure rates. I examine the survival smoothing contribution of crop insurance by looking at the relative effect of disaster relief across two regimes, pre- and post-1994. Prior to 1994 ad hoc, ex post disaster payments were the primary form of disaster relief. Shortly after the 1994 Act virtually all disaster relief came through crop insurance indemnities. I find that disaster relief in the form of ad hoc disaster payments slightly reduces the average farm failure rate, while average farm failure rates increase under the crop insurance regime. The relative effect suggests that farm failure rates increase by 1.7 percentage points (about 30-percent) under the crop insurance regime. Excessively generous ad hoc disaster payments and moral hazard provide possible explanations for these findings. These findings suggest that government-provided crop insurance plays an important role in farmer risk management. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Finance, Farm Management, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49569&r=agr |
| By: | Wassie Berhanu; Bichaka Fayissa |
| Abstract: | The long-term effects of shocks are examined in the context of a traditional pastoral community. The impacts are empirically examined in connection with the micro-level poverty trap hypothesis and the associated minimum poverty threshold estimates reported in previous studies. We argue that these estimates cannot be taken as definitive and the core explanations behind them are incongruent with the institutional realities of the pastoral community for which they are reported. The reality is that shocks have implied long-term community-wide deprivation with a lasting effect of deterioration in the indigenous capacity to cushion those who slide into permanent destitution. This is evident in the empirically identified increasing loss of confidence in the indigenous social support structures. The findings rather highlight the need for policy interventions to focus on system level community-wide development issues rather than the commonly emphasized individual targeting implied by such exercises as asset-based poverty threshold estimates. |
| Keywords: | Shocks; Poverty Trap; Pastoralism; Social Capital; Ethiopia |
| JEL: | D62 I32 O13 Q18 |
| Date: | 2009–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mts:wpaper:200903&r=agr |
| By: | Kwon, Dae-Heum; Koo, Won W. |
| Abstract: | The recent concurrent surges of food and commodity prices renew the debate on the causal directions between producer and consumer prices. To address this issue, we utilize the stage of processing system incorporating retail stage beyond crude, intermediate, and finished processing stages of food and employ the method proposed by Toda and Yamamoto (1995) and Dolado and Lütkepohl (1996) of Granger causality tests. The overall results show that consistent with theory of derived demand, the demand-pull mechanisms coexist with the cost-push processes in 1985-2001. However, the upward cost-push pressures dominate the demand-pull mechanism through various transmission channels in 2002-2008. |
| Keywords: | Demand and Price Analysis, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49332&r=agr |
| By: | Cakir, Metin; Balagtas, Joseph V.; Wu, Steven |
| Abstract: | The objective of this paper is to develop a model that explains the involvement of first level handlers in farm level decisions. In particular, the research attempts to explain observed differences among levels of farmer's autonomy in production contracts of different agricultural commodities. We show that the trade o that a contractor faces for holding the decision rights for controlling production inputs varies for different production environments. In particular, the contractor prefers controlling inputs in production of commodities that have relatively uniform production environments, whereas it is more efficient to delegate the control to the producer for commodities that have diverse production environments. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49577&r=agr |
| By: | Lerman, Zvi; Sedik, David J. |
| Abstract: | Farms in Tajikistan currently face a severe debt crisis that has been caused by a combination of two factors typical of such situations in many countries: (a) the inability of the farms to make a profit under current conditions and (b) continued lending by the banks to cotton producers regardless of reduced payment capacity and lack of credit-worthiness. The paper traces the accumulation of farm debt in Tajikistan to pervasive government intervention in both financing and production decisions, which has led to soft budget constraints and moral hazard behavior. The purpose of the paper is to inform the debate around the issue of cotton farm debt in Tajikistan by studying the experience of other countries that had to contend with farm debt overhangs in the 1980s and the 1990s. Five CIS transition countries (Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine) and one market economy (Israel) are studied using time series of aggregate financial reports of the farm sectors. The comparative analysis shows that the farm debt issue is not strictly a transition economy phenomenon. The problem can occur in market economies (e.g., Israel) if the state pursues policies directed toward the expansion of farm production without heed to creditworthiness of the farms and if the farm structure is incompatible with profitability and efficiency criteria. The basic reasons that led to debt accumulation in CIS and in Israel remain valid to this day, and the policy solutions implemented in these countries are relevant for Tajikistan. |
| Keywords: | Farm debt, transition economies, Tajikistan, CIS, Israel, farm restructuring, agricultural reforms, Agricultural Finance, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Q140, P210, P320, G300, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49253&r=agr |
| By: | Sun, Ling; Ball, Eldon; Fulginiti, Lilyan; Plastina, Alejandro |
| Abstract: | In this paper we revisit the issue on the impact of public R&D expenditure on US agricultural productivity growth. We estimate a dual cost function using a state-by-year panel data set. We construct the potential R&D âspillinsâ based on both geographical location and production mix. We also examine the role of the extension service, transportation network, and human capital in the process of technology dissemination. The results indicate that higher levels of local public goods, R&D spillins, extension activities, and an intensive transportation network decrease costs. The contributions to agricultural productivity from all series of R&D spillins are positive even though the social rate of return may differ. |
| Keywords: | productivity, public R&D expenditure, cost function, extension services, Productivity Analysis, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, O3, O4, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49333&r=agr |
| By: | Andreas Drichoutis (Department of Economics, University of Ioannina, Greece); Rodolfo M. Nayga, Jr. (Department of Agricultural Economics & Agribusiness, University of Arkansas, USA); Panagiotis Lazaridis (Department of Agricultural Economics & Rural Development, Agricultural University of Athens, Greece) |
| Abstract: | Nutritional labeling has been of much interest to policy makers and health advocates due to rising obesity trends. So can nutritional label use really help reduce body weight outcomes? This study evaluates the impact of nutritional label use on body weight using the propensity score matching technique. We conducted a series of tests related to variable choice of the propensity score specification, quality of matching indicators, robustness checks, and sensitivity to unobserved heterogeneity using Rosenbaum bounds to validate our propensity score exercise. Our results generally suggest that nutritional label use does not affect body mass index. Implications of our findings are discussed. |
| Keywords: | Nutritional Labels, Body Mass Index, Propensity Score Matching, sensitivity analysis |
| JEL: | I1 C14 |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aua:wpaper:2009-5&r=agr |
| By: | Sesmero, Juan P.; Perrin, Richard K.; Fulginiti, Lilyan E. |
| Abstract: | Continuation of policy support for the U.S. corn ethanol industry will depend upon the greenhouse gas (GHG) effects of the industry, and its economic viability. The environmental and economic performance of ethanol plants is determined by the productivity of new technologies and, in addition, by the efficiency with which technologies are used (technical efficiency) and output and inputs are combined (economic efficiency). This study estimates the technical and economic efficiencies of seven recentlyâconstructed ethanol plants in the North Central region of the US during 2006-2007 using a nonparametric, data envelopment analysis (DEA) and investigates both the drivers and implications of inefficiencies. In terms of drivers, our results are consistent with the hypothesis that economic (profit) efficiency of productive units tends to be positively correlated with their size. Regarding implications of inefficiencies, results show that, in average, the maximum feasible reduction in Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions that can be achieved by ethanol plants is very limited (7,769 milligrams). Second, we calculate a potential increase in returns over operating costs per gallon of ethanol produced (through elimination of technical and allocative inefficiency) of about 12 cents a gallon (17%). Therefore, plants can significantly increase their returns over operating costs improving their economic viability and probably, the effectiveness of public policies supporting them. |
| Keywords: | Ethanol, Efficiency, DEA, Production Economics, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49438&r=agr |
| By: | Grout, Cyrus A. |
| Abstract: | The agglomeration bonus literature has not recognized the potential of conditional agreements to overcome the informational requirements, particularly those of landowners, necessary to induce spatially coordinated land conservation. The model presented in this paper shows that the net social benefits produced by a conditional agglomeration bonus program are at least as large as those produced by a traditional uniform subsidy whenever the benefit function exhibits threshold effects and the uniform and CAB subsidies are equal. This result requires no assumptions about the information available to landowners. A regulatorâs informational requirements are limited to the shape of the benefit function. |
| Keywords: | Land Economics/Use, Q2, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49328&r=agr |
| By: | Ding, Yulian; Veeman, Michele M.; Adamowicz, Wiktor L. |
| Abstract: | This study relates habit persistence and trust to recurring food safety incidents in the context of a series of three BSE incidents in Canada. We examined the dynamics of monthly beef expenditure shares of a sample of Canadian households for monthly time periods during year 2002 through 2005 using micro level panel data which followed meat expenditures by Canadian households before and after the first three BSE cases which were discovered in 2003 and 2005. Our results suggest that householdsâ reactions to the first three BSE events followed a similar general pattern: households reduced beef purchase expenditures following the discovery of BSE but these expenditures subsequently recovered, suggesting that concern diminished over time. Following the first BSE event, we identified an immediate negative impact on beef expenditures. However, in the case of the second and third BSE events, this negative impact was not evident until two months after these BSE announcements. In each of the three cases, the negative impact of BSE on beef purchase expenditures was limited to no more than four months. Assessment of how habit persistence affected beef expenditures indicates that this influence limited households reductions of beef purchases following the BSE events, but the effects of habit diminished subsequent to the initial event. Regarding the role of trust in shaping householdsâ reactions to BSE, we found that householdsâ respondents whose answers to standardized questions suggest that they are not âtrustingâ individuals were more sensitive to the food risks identified by the BSE events. |
| Keywords: | BSE, habit, and trust, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49284&r=agr |
| By: | Letort, Elodie; Carpentier, Alain |
| Abstract: | Standard farm-level data used for crop choice modelling are farm accountancy data providing detailed data with respect to production (crop areas and production) but only providing variable input use (pesticides, fertilizers, â¦) data at the farm level. Allocation of variable input uses to crops appears useful for several reasons: it is necessary to compute gross margins at the crop level and may be used to investigate the empirical validity of multi-crop econometric models. The contribution of this research is threefold. First it shows that the standard regression based approaches for allocating variable input uses to crops are potentially biased due to the (partial) simultaneity of the (expected) crop variable input and acreage choices. Second, it proposes a econometric multi-crop model which is consistent with respect to its deterministic and random parts, for defining these biases and for providing potential solutions. Third, it proposes approaches to eliminate these biases. These approaches are based on the use of correction or control functions (Imbens and Wooldridge 2007; Wooldridge 2008). |
| Keywords: | input allocation, multiouput econometric model, control function approach, Crop Production/Industries, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49217&r=agr |
| By: | Allender, William J.; Richards, Timothy J. |
| Abstract: | Though brand loyalty has been studied extensively in the marketing literature, the relationship between brand loyalty and equilibrium pricing strategies is not well understood. Designing sales pricing strategies involves two key decisions: the percentage reduction in price from the existing price point, and the number or frequency of promotions within a category or for a specific product. These decisions, in turn, are critically dependent upon how many consumers can be convinced to switch to a brand by temporarily reducing its price, and how many are instead brand loyal. Theoretical models of how the size and strength of brand loyalty influence optimal promotion strategies have been developed, but there are no rigorous tests of their hypotheses. We test how brand loyalty impacts promotion strategies for a frequently purchased consumer package good category. Our results largely confirm that retailers often promote many brands simultaneously and that depth and breadth can be complementary. |
| Keywords: | Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49536&r=agr |
| By: | Cobourn, Kelly M.; Goodhue, Rachael E.; Williams, Jeffrey C. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49475&r=agr |
| By: | Nene, Gibson; Azzam, Azzeddine M.; Schoengold, Karina |
| Abstract: | The U.S hog production industry has been continually subjected to rapid structural changes since the early 1990s. The industryâs move towards more concentrated large hog farms and geographical concentration of such farms, have triggered public concerns over the dangers such big animal feeding operations are likely to pose to the waters of the country. This study investigates the implications of state-level environmental regulations on the structure of hog farms. The results of this study suggest that environmental regulations will result in one of three possible scenarios: (1) a more competitive industry in which small hog operations are not adversely affected which will allow more small operations to enter rather than exit the industry; (2) a more concentrated hog production industry in which large operations survive while small operations exit the industry; (3) no change in the structure of the industry where both sizes of operations are not significantly affected by environmental stringency. |
| Keywords: | Perfect competition, U.S. hog production industry, Environmental regulations, Environmental Economics and Policy, Livestock Production/Industries, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49395&r=agr |
| By: | Richards, Timothy J.; Acharya, Ram; Molina, Ignacio |
| Abstract: | The demand for organic fresh fruits and vegetable continues to grow at a rate far higher than the rest of the produce industry. The cost of meeting organic certification standards, however, has meant that supply has been slow to adjust. With limited supply, we hypothesize that organic suppliers enjoy more market power in bargaining over their share of the retail-production cost margin for fresh apples. We test this hypothesis using a random parameters, generalized extreme value demand model (mixed logit) combined with a structural model of retail and wholesale pricing that allows conduct to vary by product attributes (organic or non-organic) and time. We find that organic growers do indeed earn a larger share of the total margin than non-organic growers, but this vertical market power is eroding over time as market supply adjusts. |
| Keywords: | organics, market power, mixed logit, game theory, non-linear pricing., Industrial Organization, C35, D12, D43, L13, L41, Q13., |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49329&r=agr |
| By: | Cai, Xiaowei; Stiegert, Kyle W.; Koontz, Stephen R. |
| Abstract: | Based on Green and Porter's (GP) noncooperative game theoretic model, oligopsonists are hypothesized to follow a discontinuous pricing strategy in equilibrium. The model allows for low procurement prices during cooperative phases and high procurement prices (i.e. aggressive purchasing) during noncooperative phases. In this paper, the GP model is applied to the U.S. beef packing industry. Anecdotal evidence of beef packer margins and relevant processing costs suggest part of the margin variability could be attributed breakdowns and returns to cooperative phases. To operationalize the GP framework, we applied Hamilton's regime switching model assuming first order Markov process to test for the cooperative/noncooperative behavior of beef packers in three main fed cattle markets in the central United States and the whole U.S. market. We found that the evidence of cooperative/noncooperative conduct among the beef packers is present in all the markets examined, but the conduct varies across markets. |
| Keywords: | Margin, Beef Packing, Fed Cattle Prices, Markov Regime Switching, Industrial Organization, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49364&r=agr |
| By: | Pozo, Veronica; Saak, Alexander; Hanawa-Peterson, Hikaru |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Demand and Price Analysis, Industrial Organization, |
| Date: | 2009–05–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49503&r=agr |
| By: | Bonanno, Alessandro |
| Abstract: | Wal-Mart, the largest retailer worldwide, has been suspected of exercising market power over input providers, both merchandise suppliers and workers. However, in spite of a growing body of literature investigating the beneficial economic impact of the company through its price-lowering effect, research analyzing the companyâs economic impact over input suppliers is limited. This paper presents a general framework which can be used to investigate Wal-Martâs market power over input suppliers, vis-Ã -vis a variation in input productivity, focusing on homogenous intermediate goods supplied locally. The model is general enough to account for incumbentsâ reaction to Wal-Martâs entry resulting in exit, entry and changes in the production technology. A simplified version of the theoretical model is tested using data on local labor markets. Preliminary results show Wal-Mart having a wage lowering effect due mainly to the increased productivity of labor, while the increase in oligopsony power counts only for 15% of such effect. |
| Keywords: | Wal-Mart, oligopsony power, entry, wages, Industrial Organization, Labor and Human Capital, L13, L81, J42, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea09:49599&r=agr |